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Damage charges
Good afternoon....
So I did a VT on my Peugeot 508 on HP after passing the 50% mark. I rang them and they said they'd send a pack out and arrange for me to deliver the vehicle somewhere and, provided I returned the car before my next payment (which was in 4 weeks), I wouldn't have to make any more payments.
A week and a half later I still hadn't got the letter. I rang them to complain and suggest they may be dragging it out for another payment and was told it was because "there was a bank holiday"! So I came here and used a template message, fired it off the same day, by email, and sat back. After the weekend I got a call from Manheim asking about getting the car. I took this to mean that Startline Finance had accepted my email, even though they never replied. Manheim asked if I would mind dropping off the vehicle. As I wanted it gone straight away, and my new car was due a few days later, I said I'd take it to Birmingham. I have family there so it worked for me anyway.
The original termination letter arrived a few days later. Typical! I didn't sign it.
When I took the car to Birmingham I was there for hours. Passed from pillar to post. No one had a clue. I had to ring someone in Leeds to call someone in Birmingham to decide where to send me. None of this matters, I imagine, but it was so frustrating... Back to the point!
They examined my car. I bought it at 4½ years old and 66000 miles, had it for just over 2 ½ years and gave it back 7 years old with and 115000 miles. That's a lot of miles, but it's HP with no mileage agreements in place. I serviced it up to date and kept it MOTd. The last few services were even done by Peugeot themselves. I paid over a grand having the DPF filter changed and spent loads on other stuff to keep it going. It was ALWAYS well maintained and cleaned. I even had it professionally valeted before giving it back. The man doing the inspection said he thought it was in good condition, especially for the age, and the fact that it's done 110000 miles should be good because it's in good condition for a car that's done that many miles. He said he "doesn't know Startline's particular criteria for wear and tear, but couldn't see any problems with the car himself." and then handed me a pda saying, "Can you sign this to say I've done the inspection?"
I signed it! He put me at ease by telling me it was all fine so I was on a little cloud of relief and dropped my guard when I signed it.
Now, two weeks later, I had a letter warning me that I've cancelled my direct debit. I rang up and was told," Oh yeah... That's automated... Don't worry.... It won't affect your credit score... But you do have to pay the one thousand five hundred and nineteen pounds for the damages found in the inspection."
Shocked!
I've asked for a copy of the inspection to be sent to me. I can't believe they don't send it out automatically.
I did take some photos of the car, inside and out before I
gave it back. It was in definitely better than" reasonable" condition. There were chips on the alloys and some small scratches in the paint, and the door seal rubber had worn a small bit for the drivers door where I've got in and out.... But it was 7 years old and well used. My biggest concern is my signing the pda (like an idiot!) automatically makes me liable for everything.
I really hope I can get out of this. I can't afford that anyway.
The only other thing was it was 300 miles from needing its next service. But I guess that shouldn't affect me because it means it doesn't need it now.
Thank you for your time. If you could point me in the right direction for information I'd be very grateful. I'm aware I'll have to wait for their inspection report before knowing all my options, but I'm just laying the foundations now to make me feel a bit more relaxed. I'm so gutted. And now I have to go to work with this hanging over me.
Thank you.
Paul.
So I did a VT on my Peugeot 508 on HP after passing the 50% mark. I rang them and they said they'd send a pack out and arrange for me to deliver the vehicle somewhere and, provided I returned the car before my next payment (which was in 4 weeks), I wouldn't have to make any more payments.
A week and a half later I still hadn't got the letter. I rang them to complain and suggest they may be dragging it out for another payment and was told it was because "there was a bank holiday"! So I came here and used a template message, fired it off the same day, by email, and sat back. After the weekend I got a call from Manheim asking about getting the car. I took this to mean that Startline Finance had accepted my email, even though they never replied. Manheim asked if I would mind dropping off the vehicle. As I wanted it gone straight away, and my new car was due a few days later, I said I'd take it to Birmingham. I have family there so it worked for me anyway.
The original termination letter arrived a few days later. Typical! I didn't sign it.
When I took the car to Birmingham I was there for hours. Passed from pillar to post. No one had a clue. I had to ring someone in Leeds to call someone in Birmingham to decide where to send me. None of this matters, I imagine, but it was so frustrating... Back to the point!
They examined my car. I bought it at 4½ years old and 66000 miles, had it for just over 2 ½ years and gave it back 7 years old with and 115000 miles. That's a lot of miles, but it's HP with no mileage agreements in place. I serviced it up to date and kept it MOTd. The last few services were even done by Peugeot themselves. I paid over a grand having the DPF filter changed and spent loads on other stuff to keep it going. It was ALWAYS well maintained and cleaned. I even had it professionally valeted before giving it back. The man doing the inspection said he thought it was in good condition, especially for the age, and the fact that it's done 110000 miles should be good because it's in good condition for a car that's done that many miles. He said he "doesn't know Startline's particular criteria for wear and tear, but couldn't see any problems with the car himself." and then handed me a pda saying, "Can you sign this to say I've done the inspection?"
I signed it! He put me at ease by telling me it was all fine so I was on a little cloud of relief and dropped my guard when I signed it.
Now, two weeks later, I had a letter warning me that I've cancelled my direct debit. I rang up and was told," Oh yeah... That's automated... Don't worry.... It won't affect your credit score... But you do have to pay the one thousand five hundred and nineteen pounds for the damages found in the inspection."
Shocked!
I've asked for a copy of the inspection to be sent to me. I can't believe they don't send it out automatically.
I did take some photos of the car, inside and out before I
gave it back. It was in definitely better than" reasonable" condition. There were chips on the alloys and some small scratches in the paint, and the door seal rubber had worn a small bit for the drivers door where I've got in and out.... But it was 7 years old and well used. My biggest concern is my signing the pda (like an idiot!) automatically makes me liable for everything.
I really hope I can get out of this. I can't afford that anyway.
The only other thing was it was 300 miles from needing its next service. But I guess that shouldn't affect me because it means it doesn't need it now.
Thank you for your time. If you could point me in the right direction for information I'd be very grateful. I'm aware I'll have to wait for their inspection report before knowing all my options, but I'm just laying the foundations now to make me feel a bit more relaxed. I'm so gutted. And now I have to go to work with this hanging over me.
Thank you.
Paul.
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